Santander bikes, Boris Bike, parked up in bulk at Shoreditch end of Brick lane, London,England,UK

Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London, Swansea, Milton Keynes and Brunel University in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operating. The operation of the scheme is contracted by Transport for London to Serco. Bikes and docking stations are provided by 8D Technologies. The scheme is sponsored, with Santander UK being the main sponsor from April 2015. Barclays Bank was the first sponsor, from 2010 to March 2015. Credit for developing and enacting the scheme has been a source of debate. Johnson has taken credit for the plan, although the initial concept was announced by his predecessor Ken Livingstone, during the latter's term in office. Livingstone said that the programme would herald a "cycling and walking transformation in London" and Johnson said that he "hoped the bikes would become as common as black cabs and red buses in the capital". A study showed cyclists using the scheme are three times less likely to be injured per trip than cyclists in London as a whole, possibly due to motorists giving cycle hire users more road space than they do other cyclists. Moreover, recent customer research showed that 49 per cent of Cycle Hire members say that the scheme has prompted them to start cycling in London